Wick woman denies attempted £20k extortion over alleged affair

A Wick woman has been accused of extorting money from one man and attempting to extort thousands of pounds from another to prevent her from going public about affairs she claimed she had with each of them.

Kathleen Newlands pleaded not guilty to two charges at Wick Sheriff Court last week and will stand trial at the court on February 22.

The 34-year-old is alleged to have firstly put Mr X in a state of fear and alarm in a phone call she made to him, in which she attempted to extort £20,000 by threatening to tell his wife and family about their affair if he didn't pay up.

The second count alleges that Newlands, of Leith Walk, Wick, put another man, Mr Y, in a state of fear and alarm when she demanded £500 from him in a phone call, informing him that she had photos of their affair and would tell his wife and family about it if he didn't pay her £500, and extorted that sum from him by threats.

Charge two also states that Newlands demanded a deal be struck whereby Mr Y would make further payments to prevent the accused from posting "suggestive' comments about the alleged affair on Facebook.

The alleged offences are said to have taken place between October 1, 2020 and December 13, 2021.

Solicitor Sylvia Maclennan will represent Newlands at her trial.